3.
"You need a hobby," Rowen told her, as she pushed her empty glass back to him. He gave her a disapproving look. "One that doesn't involve slowly drinking yourself to death."

Jaina huffed and rolled her eyes. "That's not what I'm doing. I'm just…celebrating. And I already have a hobby."

It was Rowen's turn to roll his eyes. "Wandering aimlessly around the city before coming in here to slowly drink yourself to death is not a hobby."

He turned and walked away, and Jaina frowned at his back, realizing her glass was still empty. She huffed again. She didn't want to admit it, but he was right. She'd been on Akiva for a little over a week now, and to say she was bored would be an understatement. She wasn't used to having so much time on her hands. If she wasn't out "wandering aimlessly around the city" she was in here, trying to quiet the raging storm going on inside her mind.

All the extra free time meant she had entirely too much time to think. About what she'd done. About how she'd blown up her entire life. And about how she still had no idea what she was going to do about it. The alcohol helped quiet those thoughts, at least for a little while. Still, though, she needed something to do. The last thing she wanted was to become one of the regulars that were in here from the time it opened until it closed.

"There's nothing to do in this city," she whined when Rowen finally came back over. "So how am I supposed to find a hobby?"

"Well," he said slowly, leaning on the bar, "you could work here. I could use the help, and you've proven you can handle yourself when things get a little crazy."

She stared at him like he was crazy. "Think about it," he said. He walked away again, still leaving her glass empty, to go serve a family that had just come in.

Her first instinct was to reject his offer outright. There was no way she'd be caught dead working in a cantina; it was beneath her. She was, after all, an officer of the Imperial Security Bureau.

Was. The word echoed loudly in her mind and her shoulders slumped. That wasn't her life anymore. She needed to make peace with that, somehow. Maybe this could be a small step in that direction. And besides, she thought, it wasn't like she had another option. She couldn't walk up to the Imperial garrison here and ask for her old job back.

She mulled it over as Rowen made his rounds, taking care of the other customers. By the time he made his way back to her, she had her answer.

"You do realize I have no idea what I'm doing, and you'd have to teach me everything, right?" she said.

"I do," he replied, grinning. "I also have a feeling you're a fast learner and wouldn't have a hard time picking it up."

She blew out a breath. "Fine. When would you like me to start?"

"How about right now?" he said, his grin growing wider.

She quickly snatched the bottle he was holding along with her glass. "Let me have one more drink, then I'm all yours. Deal?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, and she froze, thinking she'd made him mad. Then his expression softened, and he grabbed another glass and set it on the bar. "Deal. You can start by pouring me one as well."

Jaina joined him behind the bar after they'd finished their drinks and spent the rest of the evening trying to keep up with him, while also trying to pay attention to everything he was doing. It wasn't as easy as it looked and she was thankful she was, indeed, a fast learner. A nagging question kept poking its way through her concentration, and by the end of the night, she decided it was time to ask.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked him as they cleaned up after closing. "You don't know who I am, where I came from, or anything about me. But you've been nothing by kind since I got here. Why?"

He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "You want to know if there's something in it for me. Because there's no way I wouldn't want something in return, eventually. Right?"

"Well…yeah," she said shrugging. "Isn't that how it always is?"

He gave her a sad look. "Most of the time. At least from my experience. And if I'm being honest, I'm not always this nice to every stranger who wanders into my bar."

"So why me?" she asked. "How am I any different?"

He sighed. "Because fifteen years ago, I was you. I landed here, with nothing but the clothes on my back and a few credits tucked away in a bag. Needing to make a fresh start somewhere I knew no one would find me. A stranger, the former owner of this place actually, saw me and decided to take a chance on me. I vowed that I would repay his kindness, whenever I could."

Jaina stared at him, stunned. It wasn't the answer she'd been expecting, but he was telling the truth. "I—I don't know what to say," she stammered.

"You don't have to say anything," he replied. "You asked, and now you have your answer. Does that satisfy your question?"

"Yes, it does," she said, nodding. "Thank you." He inclined his head at her and went back to work.

From that night on she worked as hard as she could for him, trying to make sure he wouldn't regret taking the chance he did on her. He kept her busy; so much so that the host of negative thoughts that used to occupy her mind ceased to exist. She still liked to wander around the city when she wasn't working, but she no longer spent those walks brooding about her misfortune.

She'd never been much of a people person but found she enjoyed the social aspect of working there. The people were friendly, and once they saw Rowen had given her his stamp of approval, they accepted her. Besides the occasional pass some of the regulars would take at her after one too many, the job itself was fun. It certainly wasn't boring. She'd even started to get to know some of the families that would come in regularly.

After a month had passed with no sign of the Inquisitor or the Empire, she was cautiously starting to think things were going to be okay. Myrra was beginning to feel like a real home, a place where she truly could start over. It was on one of her rare days off, during another leisurely walk through the city, that she decided it was time to move out from the room Rowen was renting her and get her own place.

Happy with her decision and excited to tell Rowen, she hurried back to the cantina. It wasn't crowded yet, but the dinner crowd was slowly gathering, and she found a seat at the bar. Rowen nodded to her as she sat down, but he was busy, so she decided her good news could wait for now. One of the regulars she'd become friendly with, Brentin, came up and sat down next to her, nodding hello as he took his seat.

Jaina gave him a nod in return then looked around, frowning. "You by yourself tonight?" she asked him. In the month that she'd worked there, Brentin had always come in with his wife and son. This was the first night she'd seen him alone.

"Yeah, they decided to stay home," he replied. "Temmin's, uh, not feeling well."

Jaina nodded slowly. He was lying and it was obvious, at least to her. Something was going on with him and she idly wondered if there was trouble at home. It wasn't her place to ask, however, and she decided to let the lie go.

"Well I hope he feels better," she said sympathetically. "Want something to drink or eat? Rowen seems busy and I don't mind."

"No, thank you," Brentin said with a shake of his head. He glanced nervously at the door. "I'm, uh, waiting for a few friends. They should be here shortly."

"Okay, well if you change your mind, let me know," she said, as casually as she could. Something was off with him. His body language was tense; tenser than she'd ever seen him, and the nervous energy she could feel coming off him was making her skin crawl.

He nodded slightly and turned to face the door. Jaina turned back to the bar, her good news for Rowen a distant memory as she pondered what was going on with Brentin. Maybe he was in some sort of trouble, though she didn't think that was likely either. He didn't seem the type to get mixed up with anything illegal. And Myrra wasn't exactly a hotbed for criminal activity, which was why the Imperial footprint here was small.

A sudden movement caught her attention and she turned to see Brentin stand up and quickly make his way through the crowd towards the door. She watched him and did a double-take when she saw who he was meeting. Two men, one older and one younger, and a woman around her age were now greeting Brentin, but it was the older man who had caught her eye. She stared at him, then turned around and stared at Rowen. The resemblance was uncanny.

Rowen noticed her staring and made his way over. "The usual?" he asked. She nodded, continuing to look back and forth between Rowen and the other man, as Brentin's group made their way to a table.

"Do you know them?" she asked him, nodding in the direction of the newcomers.

Rowen glanced over and his eyes narrowed slightly. "I've seen them in here a few times. They always meet with Brentin, never order anything, then Brentin will leave with them not long after they arrive." He shrugged and poured her drink. "Always thought it was odd, but they've never caused any trouble, so I just leave them alone."

Jaina absentmindedly nodded as she watched them. "I don't trust them." Rowen laughed.

"You don't trust anyone," he said. Jaina chuckled and turned back around.

"No one but you," she replied, raising her glass to him. She looked back over at the table as she took a sip. "That older one looks a lot like you. Except for the beard of course. You're sure he's not some long-lost brother you forgot about?"

Rowen watched the group for a moment, then smirked at her. "I suppose he does. Who knows, maybe he is?" He stroked his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. "What do you think? Should I grow one?"

Jaina scrunched up her face and shook her head. Rowen laughed again and shrugged, before turning to go help his other customers. Jaina sipped on her drink and watched the group as nonchalantly as she could. They weren't nearly as tense as Brentin, but they weren't exactly relaxed either. Especially the woman. Her head was in constant motion, her eyes darting around the cantina as if she expected something to happen at any moment.

On another casual glance at the group, Jaina caught her watching her. She held the woman's gaze for a moment, until the woman looked away, resuming her scan of the other patrons. Jaina chuckled. Under any other circumstances, the woman's brown hair and piercing green eyes would've had Jaina immediately walking over to ask if she could buy her a drink.

She had just finished her drink and was getting up to go get herself another one when she noticed Brentin's group stand up and start making their way to the door. Brentin was in the lead, the others trailing behind him. He kept glancing around nervously, and his anxiety level was as high as anything she'd ever felt before. She could feel it across the cantina, through everyone else.

Something was definitely going on and she hesitated, unsure if she should follow them or not. On one hand, whatever Brentin was up to with those people was none of her business. On the other, if he was in trouble, she couldn't just sit here and do nothing to help him. Especially since it seemed like no one else besides she was aware that something wasn't right.

She glanced back at Rowen, hoping that he'd noticed, but he was busy with one of the drunks. Looking back at the door, she saw the group was now gone and she made a split-second decision. Her instincts were telling her something was wrong, so she hurried out the door after them, figuring she could at least follow them and see what they were up to.

The evening air was as muggy as ever, and she scanned the crowd trying to find them. She caught a glimpse of the back of Brentin's head, bobbing through the maze of people as he moved quickly through them. She kept her eyes on him and set off after them. They were moving at a pretty good pace, considering how packed the streets were, and it was all she could do to keep the back of his head in her sights.

Eventually, the crowd began to thin as they made their way towards the outskirts of the city. Jaina was finding it harder and harder to keep herself hidden and had to resort to dropping farther behind them than she would've liked. She realized, with a small amount of dread, that they were heading towards the Imperial garrison. She'd made a point on her walks to steer clear of the place, and the closer they got, the more exposed she felt.

She wasn't paying as much attention to Brentin's group as she should have been, her mind now focused on what she was going to do if they got any closer to the garrison, so she was too slow to react when she saw the woman turn around and stare directly at her. The woman's eyes went wide, then she quickly turned back around and said something to the others.

Jaina swore under her breath as she realized her mistake and quickly looked around, trying to find some cover. Of course, there was none. She swore again when she looked back and realized the group was now gone.

Throwing all caution to the wind, she took off at a jog towards the end of the street where they'd last been. She knew what she was doing was foolish and she should just go back to the cantina, but she wouldn't be able to look his family in the eye ever again if something happened to Brentin and she didn't try to stop it.

She rounded the corner, hoping they'd still be in view and skidded to a halt. Three blasters were pointed directly at her head and she quickly threw her hands up in front of her.

"Whoa, hey, easy now. I'm unarmed," she said calmly. The two men scowled at her and she glanced behind them, seeing Brentin but not the woman.

"Search her," the old man said curtly, and Jaina's eyes went wide. He even sounded just like Rowen. She made a mental note to ask him about it later if she somehow managed to get herself out of this mess.

A wave of nervous energy hit her from behind and she realized it was coming from the woman. She didn't move and stood there calmly as the woman searched her, thankful she'd finally gotten out of the habit of carrying her blaster with her everywhere. However, when the woman moved down to her boots, she cringed.

"Oops," she said lightly, as the woman pulled out the knife she kept hidden in there and tossed it to the younger man. "Must've forgotten about that." And she had. She'd only started carrying it recently after one of the drunks had followed her to her room one night and she'd had to get a little physical with him. Rowen had insisted she start carrying one, and even though she didn't think she needed it, she did, just to ease his mind.

The woman finished her search and walked around her, leveling her blaster at Jaina as she joined the men. Jaina kept her hands in the air, not wanting to spook them. She could feel how on edge they were. She wasn't terrible in a fight, but three—possibly four if she counted Brentin—on one were odds she didn't like. Especially since she was now completely unarmed.

"Why were you following us?" the old man asked gruffly.

"I wasn't following you," she replied evenly, "I was following him." She nodded to Brentin and spoke directly to him. "Who are these people Brentin?" He seemed to be trying to hide behind the others, not wanting to look her in the eye.

"That's none of your business," the younger man replied. Jaina ignored him and continued to speak to Brentin.

"Look, if you're in some sort of trouble or something, I'm sure we can figure something out. Let's just go back to Rowen's place—"

"You are more than welcome to go back," the younger man interrupted. "In fact, that's exactly what you should do. Brentin is fine. Aren't you Brentin?"

Brentin nodded, his eyes pleading with Jaina to do as the younger man was asking. She thought about it for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

"No, I don't think I will." She tried to catch Brentin's eye again. "Does your wife know where you are? Does your son?" The pained look he gave her told her they had no idea, and she shook her head again. "Well I'm not going anywhere, so you can either shoot me or tell me what's going on."

She didn't think they would shoot her, given how nervous they were, but she wasn't entirely sure they wouldn't either. They didn't appear to be smugglers, or pirates, or even spice runners, but that observation was based on her very limited knowledge of such things. The old man grunted in frustration and glanced at the other two, who seemed to have no idea what to do either, and were looking to him for answers.

He started to slowly lower his blasters, the others following suit when Jaina noticed movement behind them. She cursed and quickly lowered her arms, hoping the stormtrooper patrol that had just walked into view hadn't noticed them yet. The others saw her reaction and immediately spun around, quickly holstering their blasters as they, too, saw the patrol. Jaina held her breath, hoping the patrol would pass by without paying attention to them, as they always did.

Luck was not on her side tonight, and she grimaced as the patrol slowed to a stop in front of them. She lowered her head and tried to hide behind the old man, glancing around to see if she could somehow sneak away.

"What's all this?" the lead trooper casually asked.

"Uh, nothing sir," the old man replied, making his way to the front of the group. "We were just having a conversation. My friends and I, we're not from around here, so we stopped to ask directions from this nice gentleman." He clapped Brentin on the shoulder and Brentin smiled weakly at the trooper.

Jaina was trying to slowly back away in the direction she'd come from as the old man kept the troopers occupied, but unfortunately, this patrol was a little more observant than the others she'd encountered.

"Hey, stop right there," one of them said, pointing to her. She froze and saw the old man turn around and glare at her.

"All right, let's see some identification," the lead trooper said. "Come on, get them out, let's go."

No one moved. "Now, that's not necessary, sir," the old man said, and Jaina watched as his hand started inching towards his blaster. The others had noticed as well, and theirs, too, were beginning to creep towards their weapons.

The lead trooper wasn't buying it and raised his rifle, pointing it at the old man. "Identifications. Now."

"Of course, sir, right away," the old man calmly replied. He turned around to face the four of them and shrugged. "You heard the man." Jaina saw both the younger man and woman nod imperceptibly, and then as if on some unseen cue, all three of them drew their blasters at once and fired on the patrol.

In an instant, there was chaos. Jaina ducked when the first shots rang out and frantically looked around for any cover that might be nearby. There was a stack of storage containers near one of the buildings on the other side of the street, and she sprinted towards it. The troopers had already recovered and were starting to return fire when she dove behind the containers. The others quickly joined her.

She scowled at Brentin as he crouched next to her. He gave her an apologetic look and she just shook her head at him. The others were returning fire as best they could at the troopers, and Jaina peeked out from around the side to see what was going on. The troopers had taken cover behind another stack of containers about fifty meters from them.

She wasn't an expert on trooper tactics, but she did know there was no way they hadn't called for backup already. And since the garrison was close, it wouldn't take their reinforcements long to arrive. They needed to get out of there, and fast. The old man seemed to realize this as well, and he crouched down next to her and Brentin.

"Okay, we're going to do this one at a time," he shouted over the din. "When I tell you, run like hell that way." He pointed in the direction they'd originally come from. He looked at Jaina. "You first."

She shook her head. "No way. He goes first. He has a family." The old man narrowed his eyes but didn't argue. Brentin gave her a grateful look and then stood up in a half-crouch, ready to run.

"Okay," the old man said, nodding to the other two. "Now!" The three of them opened up with enough fire to keep the trooper's heads down and Jaina watched as Brentin sprinted as fast as he could. He made it around the corner and disappeared from their sight.

"Your turn," the old man said, and Jaina nodded. She started to get herself ready to run when the troopers opened up with an intense salvo, pinning all four of them to the ground. Jaina could feel the container start to move as the blaster fire furiously impacted the other side. There was no way she was going anywhere for now.

She was beginning to wonder if the troopers were ever going to let up when she heard a whistling sound overhead. Before any of them could react, a rocket slammed into the wall above their heads. The wall exploded, raining large chunks of debris down onto them. Instinctively, Jaina put her hands up, as if that would somehow protect her from the crushing weight of the falling wall and waited for the inevitable end.

Nothing happened. Tentatively, she opened her eyes and realized the debris was hovering inches above their heads. She had no idea what was happening, but it was as if she could feel the pieces of debris in her mind. Her whole body seemed to be buzzing with a sensation she'd never felt before. She froze, not wanting to move or speak, for fear that whatever hold she seemed to have on the debris would fail, and they would be crushed.

"Go, now," the old man quietly told the other two. "We'll be right behind you."

Out of the corner of her eye, Jaina saw them quickly get up and sprint in the same direction Brentin had gone, firing on the troopers as they went. She heard the troopers return fire, shifting their focus to them, and off the old man and Jaina.

"Okay," the old man said calmly. "On the count of three, we're both going to sprint in that same direction, got it?"

"I…I can't," Jaina croaked out.

"Yes, you can," the old man replied, "because you don't have another choice. There's no way the troopers didn't see this, and they will report it. If they don't catch you now, they will tear this city apart looking for you." She gave him a terrified look, and he continued: "But I think you already know that. We will get you to safety, take you wherever you want to go. I promise."

Jaina stared at him, wondering if she could trust him. Her instincts told her, yes, and she couldn't detect any hints of deception in his eyes or his tone. He really did remind her of Rowen, and Rowen's face flashed in her mind.

She couldn't just disappear again, not when she'd worked so hard to gain his trust. He wouldn't understand and would never forgive her. And she was happy here. She'd finally started to rebuild her life again.

The memory of her last encounter with the Inquisitor forced its way in, and she realized the old man was right. The Empire would find out about what happened here, and she had no doubt they'd send the Inquisitor to investigate. She couldn't risk sticking around and putting Rowen in danger.

She gave the old man a small nod. "Okay," he said, "one…two…three!" He grabbed her arm and yanked her out from under the debris. They sprinted towards the other two, who immediately opened fire on the troopers when they realized what was happening. Whatever hold Jaina had on the debris was released as soon as she cleared it, and it came crashing down behind them as they ran.

"Our ride?" the old man asked the younger one as they cleared the corner behind the other two.

"On her way," he replied, continuing to send a steady stream of blaster bolts in the trooper's direction.

"Then let's go," the old man said. The younger one nodded, sent a few more bolts towards the troopers, then took off at a run up the street. The others followed him, Jaina keeping pace beside the old man. She was surprised that he seemed so fit, given how old he looked.

She felt him nudge her arm and looked over. "I'll want that back," he said coolly, as he handed her one of his blasters. She nodded and looked over her shoulder as they ran, seeing that the troopers were now following them.

She didn't want to fire on them if she didn't have to—they were just doing their jobs, after all—but had no choice once a few bolts sizzled past her head. Turning as she ran, she squeezed off a few shots, not even bothering to look and see where they landed. She'd always been a decent shot, but she wasn't trying to kill them. She just needed to make sure they didn't kill her. The groups continued to exchange fire as they ran, and Jaina idly wondered where the trooper's reinforcements were.

The younger man led them through the narrow streets, twisting and turning their way towards a part of the city she'd never been to. They ducked down a side street and Jaina thought she caught a glimpse of the jungle in front of them when without warning, a ship roared overhead.

"There's our ride!" the old man yelled from behind her. She looked up, but the ship was gone, heading off towards the jungle.

They burst out of the street and into a large clearing. The jungles of Akiva were directly ahead of them, and to their left, Jaina watched as a freighter circled in the distance and started heading in their direction. She heard a rumbling sound and looked to her right, seeing with some horror, a column of Imperial tanks making a beeline towards them.

Everyone else saw them at the same time she did, and they sprinted for the incoming freighter. The tanks fired their first salvo and the ground shook as the rounds exploded behind them. The freighter was finally on the ground now and Jaina could see its ramp start to lower. Much to her surprise, it was well-armed and opened up with a barrage of laser fire, targeting the tanks behind them.

Blaster fire from the troopers that had followed them scorched the air around her as she ran, and she blindly fired back. The tanks fired again, the rounds impacting even closer this time, and the concussion knocked Jaina off her feet. She rolled back up and took off again, urging her legs to go faster.

The younger man and woman had already made it to the freighter, and Jaina was closing in when the tanks fired again. She heard the old man shout something from behind her, but it was unintelligible over the din of the firefight.

Suddenly, the world erupted in front of her, and for a split second, she felt like she was flying. Then everything went dark.